PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR CONDUCTING A KOAN ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDING A STRATEGY TO TRANSITION KOAN TO BECOME AN EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY ORGANIZATION

Deadline : NOVEMBER 30 2022 (EXTENDED FROM NOV 5 2022)

Applications should be sent to info@koan.co.ke 

For any inquiries call 0728 772 805 | 0731 772 805

TORs KOAN Organizational Capacity Assessment

TERMS OF REFERENCE  FOR CONDUCTING A KOAN ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDING A STRATEGY TO TRANSITION KOAN TO BECOME  AN EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY ORGANIZATION

1. Background

KOAN, the Kenya Organic Agriculture Network, is a network that brings together stakeholders in the organic space. Founded in 2005, KOAN has been coordinating the organic sector in Kenya. It has been promoting organic agriculture through communication and trade facilitation. The latter is mainly by training and linking farmers to markets – both domestic and international – and also by linking business development service providers such as input suppliers and certification bodies to  the  organic operators.  The  organization has  been  instrumental in  the  development  and implementation of the East Africa Organic Products Standards (EAOPS), and the related East Africa Organic Mark – the Kilimo Hai Brand. KOAN has also worked closely at the national level to advocate for pro-organic agriculture policies.

 

KOAN  Vision:  A  vibrant  Ecological Organic  Agriculture sector  for  healthy and  resilient communities and environments.

 

KOAN Mission:  To coordinate and create public exposure of the National Ecological Organic

Agriculture sector, promoting its contribution to economic, environmental, and social benefits.

 

Context  of the Assessment

 

KOAN has registered under the companies act as a company limited by guarantee as a non-profit organization. Since its inception, KOAN  has been operating as an NGO  mainly implementing donor-funded projects aligned to its mission and vision. With the growth of the sector and with more players joining in, the expectations and demands of members and other stakeholders on KOAN have increased. At the same time, KOAN wishes to develop its assets and opportunities and to become less dependent on donor-funded projects with its own sustainable business.

 

For KOAN to live up to its mandate and to continue even more being relevant to its members and stakeholders, it wants to develop the quality and nature of its services. KOAN intends to start with a new strategic approach and develop its capacity. It is against this background that an organizational capacity assessment is proposed to help a KOAN transition. Various models have worked elsewhere in the organic agriculture sector. One example that has been proposed is the Bio Suisse model which strongly keeps the Kenyan context in mind. Bio Suisse is an organic sector organization in Switzerland just like KOAN. They offer services to their farming members, their license keepers, the organic food processing and trade companies, as well as to the sector as a whole.

 

KOAN has the support of FiBL, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, to facilitate the identification of key lessons and the drivers for the success of other successful organic umbrella organizations, which can be adapted by taking into consideration the Kenyan context. FiBL will also backstop the KOAN management in taking its decision. It will closely work together with the consultant in the detailed planning of the consultant’s assignment, in the undertaking of the organizational capacity assessment (OCA), and particularly in the plan development. While KOAN formally contracts the consultant and takes the decisions, FiBL will supervise the consultant on the content level and be a discussion partner that provides support and guidance for each step.

 

The OCA will evaluate the current KOAN  structures, and the skills of staff, board, and other KOAN organs to determine opportunities, gaps, and areas of improvement. The assessment will also take into consideration members’ and stakeholders’ needs, and expectations and recommend how KOAN can address them and the limitations thereof. The aim is to strengthen KOAN to be an efficient and resilient organization with sustainable impacts.

 

Objectives  of the Assessment

 

The overall objective of the exercise is that KOAN is able to transition its operations. It wants to grow, be more relevant in the organic market, and be more independent from donor projects. For that purpose, it wants to become more service-oriented to members, and other sector stakeholders. The OCA accompanies that development with specific, well-defined recommendations from the consultant together with FIBL. The developed reports, recommendations and plans will guide the transition strategy of the board and management of KOAN.

 

Specific objectives are:

 

1. To assess members, sectorial, and stakeholders’ needs, expectations, and requirements for the Kenya Organic Agriculture Sector growth
2. To assess KOAN’s  organizational and staff’s,  board members’  individual capacities to develop the institution and to implement the future work plan
3. To develop an implementation plan, which should include recommended activities, budget, indicators to measure progress, and suggested sequence of execution. Key focus areas of the  OCA  are  governance  (vision, oversight,  resourcing);  senior  leadership  (board- management linkage); strategy; and operational systems and processes. The OCA development and particularly the implementation plan is closely consulted with the KOAN management and the FiBL advisor.
4. Identify opportunities  where investment in capacity building will drive organizational change to efficiently deliver services.

 

Results of the Assessment

 

1. The consultant designs and delivers the OCA report in close collaboration with FiBL including a) the capacity assessment, b) the strategic proposals and c) the implementation plan.
2. The strategic proposal and the implementation plan are developed based on findings from the capacity assessment in collaboration with FiBL. They provide a clear pathway to achieving expected results including the required resources (including financial, human resources, and others)
3. The OCA report and the implementation plan assess members’, individuals’, organizations’, and where appropriate, sector’s capacity.

 

 

Key Deliverables

 

1. An inception report, which includes the consultant’s work plan, detailed methodology, report format, and proposed timeline.
2. Presentation and validation of a draft OCA report and suggested implementation plan in a

Workshop with KOAN members, board, management and staff, and other KOAN invitees.

3. Presentation of the final report to the organic sector after approval of the report by the

KOAN management.

 

 

Scope of Work

 

1. Assessment (KOAN Members, – board, staff, farmers Stakeholders in representative areas of  the  country, representative  sample  of  organic  entrepreneurs,  regulators,  Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and local and international partners of KOAN).
2. Sector context and analysis.
3. Assess the drivers and constraints which may explain present performance or be a threat to future capacity growth- including mitigation measures.
4. Assess internal  elements  of  the  organization, including leadership, current  strategy, structures, human resource management, and internal controls.
5. Assess change readiness and identify potential or present change inertia factors.
6. Develop change strategy and change management aspects.
7. Review available government/international  donor  resources and connections including reports
8. Ongoing consultation with stakeholders in the course of executing the growth plan.

 

 

Overall Approach

 

The assignment and recommendation should be approached in such a way that they facilitate ownership and drive the final growth plan so that results are sustained. It should be participatory and consultative.

 

Self-assessment and consultative methodologies should be incorporated into the assignment not only to improve the range of information collected but also to improve ownership and drive the implementation plan

 

Roles and Responsibilities

 

KOAN Board, Management, and FiBL Backstoper

 

1. Will commit time to this exercise and are ready to support the OCA with ideas
2. Facilitate introductions and connections to key stakeholders for the consultant as necessary
3. Facilitate focus group and individual interviews
4. Grant access to necessary organizational documents
5. Reflect and provide feedback on the ideas of the consultant

 

 

Consultant

 

1. Interested consultants submit a proposal on their intended work including their interpretation of the assignment, their proposed methodology, their work plan, and their financial offer (max 3 pages plus CV)
2. We expect that the consultant works according to these TOR, the proposal, and the inception report that state clear reporting deadlines for the various stages of the assignment. We expect to meet agreed deadlines for deliverables
3. We expect a timely request for documents and needed logistical support and we expect timely notification for workshops/group discussions and of required participants
4. We expect a consultant’s involvement of about 10 working days over a period of 2 months

 

 

Overall Organization of the Assessment

 

We organize the assessment process as follows:

 

1. Advertisement for Consultants and submission of applications by 31 October 2022.
2. Selection of the consultant by 4 November 2022 considering the best value for the price, while we keep a priority on quality.
3. Signing of contract with the Consultant. The contract will include details of the emolument and communication protocol.
4. The Consultant submits a draft inception report that is agreed with FIBL with the detailed work plan and assessment methodology to the KOAN-management.
5. KOAN management provides comments and approves the final version of the inception report
6. The Consultant will execute the assignment as per the agreed work plan starting on 10

November. Necessary revisions to the plan will be communicated and agreed upon in writing. This communication will follow the same protocol as above- when the original plan was approved.

7. A draft report that is agreed with FiBL is presented to KOAN for validation and feedback
8. The final report is presented as stated above in a workshop.

 

TORs KOAN Organizational Capacity Assessment